Feels like ages since I wrote one of these. Still, nice to be back and again and return to normal. I have been busy, even though there hasn’t been a set of goals up: my new way of working in tandem with Raven seems to be working out nicely (more on that in a bit). But, just like Raven had to break it all down a bit and look at what she actually expects of herself this year, I need to do the same.

So here we go!

This Year I Will . . .

Here are my goals for the year, broken into their component parts. As ever, changes in red, new items will be in green and completed tasks will be struck out.

• Release ‘On A Knife Point’ in paperback and digital forms and thus complete the ‘Saar’s Legacy’ trilogy
  • Complete deep edits
  • Send through beta readers
  • Complete beta edits
  • Final edits
  • Commission cover design
  • Format for all formats
    • Smashwords
    • Amazon
    • Createspace
  • List as pre order
  • Release
• Complete the release of ‘Dead And Alive, Season One’
  • Release Episode Four (Resistance) on February 15
    • Complete an additional proofread on formatted document and upload
  • Release Episode Five (Answers) on April 15
    • Complete deep edits
      • Format
      • Amazon
      • Smashwords
    • List as pre order
    • Release
  • Release Episode Six (Crossroads) on June 15
    • Complete deep edits
    • Format
      • Amazon
      • Smashwords
    • List as pre order
    • Release
• Complete draft of ‘Dead And Alive, Season Two’
  • Write parts 1-9 (min 5k words each part)
• Submit ‘Clash of the Animal Kings’ to agents/small presses/open submission calls
  • Rewrite and edits
  • Beta readers
  • Further edits
  • Seek suitable submission opportunities
    • Agents
    • Small presses
    • Open submission calls
  • Submit
• Outline plans for my traditional fantasy serial (I suppose it’s Wheel of Time-esque), especially to figure out how many novels it will take to tell the tale and how I would release them if I chose to start writing in 2017.
• Outline plans for a new series, following/featuring characters from ‘Dead And Alive’

Ugh. So, Targets for January 2016?

• Complete an additional proof on Episode Four (Resistance) and upload
• Get Episode Five (Answers) ready for release and listed as a pre order
• Draft the next three episodes of Dead And Alive, Season Two

Activities This Fortnight

Actually, this list is exactly as above as there are only two weeks left of the month anyway. Completion of this list will take us into February.

Thoughts…

Credit: ryanlerch at OpenClipArt

Seeing everything I need to do laid out like that is a bit startling. I forget just how many different roles are involved when it comes to releasing one title. This way, however, I think it’s manageable.

Raven and I have been doing small amounts every day, working in alternating 15 minute blocks of time. It’s fascinating how much we can get done this way and it means that neither of us is left ‘waiting for a turn.’ Sure, it’s a bit slower, but it does mean that both of us can work towards what we want to do without huge gaps in between. That, I feel, was the biggest challenge last year, especially for DSB. So far, this is much better.

Let’s see if we can keep it up. :p